You want to make a difference. You’re the kind of person who lives to help. Here, you will understand the human experience at the intersection of diversity, human rights, culture, and ethics. At Saint Mary’s College, we firmly believe in an approach to social work that aligns with four core values: learning, community, faith/spirituality, and justice. You will be pushed to take what you learn in the classroom and apply it to your professional practice as you strive for social and economic justice in society.
As a student in our MSW program, open to both men and women, you will work toward creating a culture of human dignity, inclusivity, solidarity, and sustainability while preparing for a professional career. You will receive a generalist education as well as a chance to choose a speciality in Clinical/Mental Health (launching Fall 2023) with an option in Aging during your second year. Your education here will provide you with research opportunities regarding inclusivity, diversity, and equity, all while providing you with the full course and fieldwork necessary to obtain an MSW.
Your education in Social Work doesn’t stop in the classroom; while at Saint Mary’s, your faculty will help match you with a field placement in your community. In fact, you’ll be working in the field every semester alongside your online coursework. Your field placements will help ensure you are getting the most relevant and specific experience possible as you work toward graduation and your eventual career as a Social Worker.
At Saint Mary’s, you will work alongside graduate students in Nursing, Speech Language Pathology, and Autism Studies; in short, alongside other graduate students who want to make a difference. Inter-professionalism will be a part of your career after you leave Saint Mary’s and it will be part of your experience as a Saint Mary’s student. In our Social Work program, you will benefit from the wealth of inter-professional knowledge all of our faculty and students across different disciplines bring to the table.
Candidacy national accreditation status under the new 2022 CSWE EPAS (Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards) by the Council on Social Work Education’s Board of Accreditation. The 2022 EPAS focuses on nine competencies, including a competency regarding antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and another focusing on advancing human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice. With a focus on clinical social work practice skills and adding social policy advocacy and research/evaluation skills to support positive mental health, the Saint Mary's College MSW Program is poised and ready to help students meet the demands of a changing world. The MSW Program expects to be granted candidacy in the 2023-24 academic year under the new 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards.
Whether you are a current undergraduate student in an unrelated field, a recent graduate with a BSW, or a working professional interested in a career change, our MSW program will help you achieve your goals of making a difference in your community, whether local or global (or somewhere in between!).
Working in field placements chosen to strengthen your classroom learning, you will work toward your goal of receiving your MSW and preparation to affect change in the world. With the help of passionate faculty, and alongside a cohort of amazing students, you’ll pursue research related to your interests, develop high-level skills while working in your community, and ultimately find a way to make your mark on the world.
Our programs will prepare you to go immediately into the workforce or further your study in a doctoral program.
Please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at graduateadmission@saintmarys.edu for application information!
Up to fifteen credit hours from an accredited undergraduate program may be awarded toward the graduate program at the discretion of the Master of Social Work Program for students who do not have a BSW and are applying to the 2 year MSW.
Personal Statement 2 year MSW
Your personal statement should be one double-spaced document that is in 12-point font and does not exceed 1500 words. Your statement must address all of the first four of the following topics, and the fifth if applicable:
Note: Please use headings or numbers to separate each response in your statement.
Personal Statement 1 year MSW with Advanced Standing
Advanced standing is awarded only to those with a(n): 1) CSWE-accredited baccalaureate social work degree; 2) CASWE-accredited baccalaureate social work degree (from the Canadian social work accreditor, recognized through an MOU with CSWE and CASWE); and 3) Internationally earned ISWDRES-evaluated degree comparable to a baccalaureate social work.
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
SW 500 | Justice-Based Social Work Practice | 3 |
SW 501 | The Social Work Profession: Agent of Change | 3 |
SW 502 | Crisis Intervention and Conflict Resolution | 3 |
SW 503 | Generalist Practice: Individuals, Families, & Groups | 3 |
SW 504 | Generalist Practice Communities & Organizations | 3 |
SW 505 | Human Behavior in the Environment | 3 |
SW 506 | Social Policy | 3 |
SW 507 | Practicum & Integrative Seminar I | 3 |
SW 508 | Practicum and Integrative Seminar II | 3 |
SW 509 | Research Methods in Social Work | 3 |
SW 600 | Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Social Work | 3 |
SW 601 | Clinical Social Work I | 3 |
SW 602 | Clinical Social Work II | 3 |
SW 603 | Practicum & Integrative Seminar III - Clinical Practice | 3 |
SW 604 | Practicum & Integrative Seminar IV | 3 |
SW 605 | Clinical Assessment & Diagnosis | 3 |
SW 606 | Research Methods in Clinical Social Work | 3 |
SW 607 | Clinical Policies and Services | 3 |
Elective Classes: | ||
Select two from the following: | 6 | |
SW 608 | ||
Clinical Practice with Adults | ||
SW 610 | ||
Substance Use Disorders | ||
SW 612 | ||
SW 613 | ||
SW 614 | ||
Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Social Work Practice | ||
SW 616 | ||
SW 617 | ||
SW 618 | ||
Total Credits | 60 |
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
SW 600 | Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Social Work | 3 |
SW 601 | Clinical Social Work I | 3 |
SW 602 | Clinical Social Work II | 3 |
SW 603 | Practicum & Integrative Seminar III - Clinical Practice | 3 |
SW 604 | Practicum & Integrative Seminar IV | 3 |
SW 605 | Clinical Assessment & Diagnosis | 3 |
SW 606 | Research Methods in Clinical Social Work | 3 |
SW 607 | Clinical Policies and Services | 3 |
Elective Courses: | ||
Select two from the following: | 6 | |
SW 608 | ||
Clinical Practice with Adults | ||
SW 610 | ||
Substance Use Disorders | ||
SW 612 | ||
SW 613 | ||
SW 614 | ||
Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Social Work Practice | ||
SW 616 | ||
SW 617 | ||
SW 618 | ||
Total Credits | 30 |
Competency 1: Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
Competency 2: Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice
Competency 3: Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice
Competency 4: Engage in Practice-informed Research and Research-informed Practice
Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice
Competency 6: Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
Competency 7: Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
Competency 9: Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
Frances Kominkiewicz, Ph.d, MSW, MSA, BSW, LCSW
25 Spes Unica Hall, Room 256E
574 284 4515
L. Brueseke, MSW, LCSW
This course is designed to increase understanding, knowledge, and skills regarding social, racial, economic, and environmental justice. Designated social work practice theoretical frameworks regarding diversity are applied to explain the interaction in the social systems of the intersectionality of multiple factors including race, color, ethnicity, age, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, culture, disability, political ideology, religion, sex, and sexual orientation. The course also focuses on the relationship between diversity issues in these larger social systems. The aspects of communities and organizations will also be explored through a variety of applications, including systems theory and the ecological approach, with emphasis on such aspects of the community as community power, human ecology, and conflict. Social systems will be compared and contrasted with the ecological, power, and conflict positions. Systems theory will also be applied to the aspects of society with emphasis on diversity, racism, feminism, and populations-at-risk. ADEI engagement in social work practice is discussed throughout the course.
This course teaches students about the types of social work careers, and the nature, purpose, function, and organizational content of the profession. The historical development of social work and social welfare institutions; the development of social welfare policies and their impact on social work practice, the values and ethics of the profession, and the role of the social work profession as a change agent from an ADEI perspective are addressed. Case examples of social work intervention are utilized. Prerequisites: SW 500; Co-requisites: SW 503, SW 505, and SW 507
Crisis Intervention and Conflict Resolution addresses the critical events which lead to a crisis and addresses how social workers can identify, assess, and intervene. Critical events occur on micro, (e.g. illness, death of a loved one, loss of employment, end of a relationship), mezzo, (e.g. natural disasters, tornadoes, floods, community violence, school shootings) and macro (e.g. events on 9/11, wars, global warming) levels. Prerequisites: This course is required for the MSW. Prerequisites: SW 500, 501, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 508, and 509.
Provides the foundation for professional social work practice with individuals, families, and groups. Course content includes the functions, roles, skills, conceptual framework, values, and ethics involved in a generalist approach. Through practice lenses of engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation, the following areas are addressed: building rapport and developing professional relationships with diverse clients, defining problems, incorporating appropriate and best-known research evidence to date, using observation to monitor and evaluate progress, and assessing readiness for termination. A variety of practice approaches will be explored including ADEI and multi-systemic/socio-cultural understandings of individuals and social issues, inclusive strengths and empowerment strategies, human rights perspectives, behavioral and developmental approaches, and ethical and multicultural competencies. Prerequisites: SW 500. Co-requisites: SW 501; SW 505; SW 507
The importance of culture, class, gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity and their relationship to values and belief systems will be examined in light of the importance of culturally competent practice. The students will examine their own values in relationship to their capacity to engage in generalist social work practice with a wide variety of populations. Students are required in this course to demonstrate respect for and acceptance of the unique characteristics of diverse populations. This course is taught with a focus on ADEI. A variety of teaching-learning techniques and experiences will be utilized throughout the course in order to address the content and to assist students in meeting course objectives. Learning experiences include readings, lectures, class discussions, videos, chapter presentations, case presentations, exams, various written assignments, and assignments utilizing information technology. The course also relies on the experiences of students investigating current field placements for case examples from which relevant theoretical concepts and principles for practice with communities and organizations can be identified & enhanced. Prerequisites: SW 500, 501, 503, 505, 507.
This course will explore the dynamics of human behavior in the environment to prepare a foundation of knowledge on which to build clinical social work skills from an ADEI perspective. Special attention is given to developing an evidenced-based research understanding of individual and family behavior and development over the course of the life span as a function of reciprocal interactions with groups, communities, organizations, and society from a bio-psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual perspective. A variety of theories are utilized to assist in understanding the complexity of human behavior, including psychodynamic, psychosocial, family systems, cognitive, and neurobiological theories, among others. Course content is sensitive to human diversity, including race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical challenges, spirituality, and socioeconomic factors as they affect human behavior and lifespan development. Students will assess ADEI systemic issues that can impact strengths, challenges, risk, resilience and protective factors that affect clients’ social functioning through the examination of human behavior in the environment with attention to structural factors (e.g., poverty, racism, gender issues, aging) that contribute to challenge and success in human development. The impact of trauma, loss, and environmental stressors on the individual and the family are also explored. Prerequisites:SW 500. Co-requisites:SW 501;SW503;SW507
Social Welfare Policy and Services is a required course in the MSW generalist curriculum to prepare students for policy analysis and generalist Social Work practice. It is designed to educate the student about the historical development of selected social welfare programs as well as the current federal policies and social service delivery systems, to develop the student’s policy analysis skills, including economic analysis, social analysis, and political analysis, and to acquaint the students with present moral and ethical issues in developing roles as policy researchers and applied policy practitioners. Prerequisites: SW 500, 501, 503, 505, 507.
Practicum and Integrative Seminar I is the first of two required generalist practicum and seminar courses. The field practicum is an educationally directed experience under the supervision of an agency-based social work practicum instructor and a campus-based faculty practicum director. The integrative seminar component addresses the practicum experience and assists students in the integration and application of practice theory to their practicum placement learning activities. The second course of the two-semester sequence, Practicum and Integrative Seminar II (SW 508), is taught in the second semester of the generalist year. Students complete a minimum of 450 hours during SW 507 and SW 508. Prerequisites: SW 500. Co-requisites: SW 501, SW 503, and SW 505
Field education is comprised of two interrelated components: 1) The field placement, and 2) the Integrative Seminar. Together, these elements are the means by which students become competent practitioners at the Clinical Social Work Specialization level (SW 603-SW 604). The Integrative Seminar provides students with regular opportunities for integration of course content and field experiences. The integrative seminar connects the theoretical and conceptual content of the classroom with Clinical Social Work practice in field settings. In the seminar, as we consult with one another and reflect on practice dilemmas, we examine practice problems in the context of ADEI practice, social work values, and how we professionally think and feel (cognitive and affective processes) incorporating each of the identified social work competencies. Prerequisites: SW 500, 501, 503, 505, 507.
SW 509 Research Methods in Social Work is a generalist course in both research literacy and social research. Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods, program evaluation, assessment, and statistics are considered significant components of practice knowledge and accountability; demonstrating practice and program effectiveness is imperative in social work practice settings. In addition, as consumers of scholarly research studies, social workers need to understand social work research methods in order to analyze the quality of studies and apply them to practice. Relatedly, social workers need to comprehend ethical aspects of research in terms of the values of the social work profession including, among other values, the protection of research participants. As a starting point for developing research competencies needed for social work practice, SW 509 provides the big picture philosophical and cultural contexts of social work research, and engages critical thinking about the nature of social work, its knowledge base, its means of developing knowledge, and its theories and practices. Prerequisites: SW 500, 501, 503, 505, 507.
This course introduces students to human rights and social justice perspectives in order to examine the shifting landscape of diversity, oppression, power, and privilege, and how this affects social work ADEI practice from a human behavior in the environment perspective. The fundamental goal of the course is for students to develop critical consciousness in order to gain competencies to address diversity, privilege, racism, and oppression in social work practice. The importance of power and the dynamics of domination and subordination in multiple manifestations of oppression, particularly among historically oppressed groups, will be explored. An understanding of these concepts integrated with an understanding of one’s self within these systems is essential for social work practice.
This course is a clinical theory and practice course taught in the first semester of a two-semester sequence designed to prepare students to provide social work clinical practice services and to supervise delivery of those services to couples, families, and groups. It builds on the generalist practice year and advances knowledge by focusing upon the therapeutic relationship as the framework for developing interviewing, assessment, and intervention skills appropriate with diverse client situations and supported by empirical research. Assessment and treatment principles from various interpersonal, psychodynamic, group, and cognitive-behavioral theories and approaches are explored. The course focuses on advanced clinical social work, clinical and client advocacy skills, and techniques at each stage of the helping process, and with clinical practice situations as these apply to individuals, client groups, couples, and family systems with an emphasis on the assessment and diagnosis of clients across the lifespan, the development of a treatment plan, the therapeutic relationship, the treatment process, and clinical practice with clients from diverse backgrounds, including ethnic, racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. An ADEI perspective is applied. Prerequisites: SW 600. Co-requisites: SW 603 and SW 605
This course is the second semester of a two-semester sequence designed to prepare students to provide social work clinical practice services and to supervise delivery of those services to couples, families, and groups. The advanced techniques of practice methods and skills taught in Clinical Social Work I are built upon in Clinical Social Work II. Emphasis in this course is on developing further competence in processes for helping prevent problems; enhancing, developing, and restoring social functioning; and strengthening learning in application and evaluation of practice theories. This course focuses on therapeutic work with couples, families and groups. Reinforcement of the connections among theory, evidence-based practice, interventions, and culturally appropriate and ADEI social work practice occurs. Addressed is the professional use of self to enhance clinical social work therapeutic outcomes. This course is required in the MSW Clinical Social Work Specialization. The prerequisite is completion of both Clinical Social Work I and one semester of advanced practice field along with a concurrent field placement in advanced practice in clinical social work. Advanced Standing and SW 600, 601, 603, 605 or the following courses in the Two-Year Program: SW 500, 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 600.
This clinical social work specialization course provides an integrative seminar and supervised advanced learning and practice of clinical social work services. Students are placed in practice-settings conducive to clinical social work practice under the supervision of an agency-based social work supervisor and a campus-based faculty practicum director. Special emphasis is placed on providing students with the basis for continued development of culturally competent ADEI clinical social work practice. The integrative seminar component addresses the practicum experience and assists students in the integration and application of practice theory and further refinement of social work skills, including assessment, interventions, and group practice, to their practicum placement learning activities. The second course of the two-semester sequence, Practicum and Integrative Seminar IV- Clinical Practice (SW 604), is taught in the second semester of the clinical social work specialization year. Students complete a minimum of 450 hours during the two-semester sequence, SW 603 and SW 604. Prerequisites: SW 600. Co-requisites: SW 601 and SW 605
This Clinical Social Work Specialization course provides an integrative seminar and supervised practice of clinical social work services, including assessment, diagnosis, treatment including psychotherapy and counseling, client-centered advocacy, consultation, and evaluation. Students are placed in community- based settings where the primary focus is to provide treatment to children, adolescents and adults who experience a wide range of DSM-V-recognized mental health problems. Special emphasis will be placed on providing students with the basis for continued development of culturally competent clinical social work practice. Our focus is clinical social work practice that is recovery-oriented, strengths-based and committed to providing culturally safe, effective services to clients who have traditionally been under or poorly served due to economic, social and political disenfranchisement. Students will be challenged to consider how to reduce barriers to mental health service delivery that may arise from intersecting oppressions linked to age, race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexual orientation, disability, and other marginalized statuses. Along with the content areas noted above, we will examine and apply values and principles of ethical practice and give particular attention to ethical dilemmas in which important values appear to collide. Prerequisites: Advanced Standing and SW 600, 601, 603, 605 or the following courses in the Two-Year Program: SW 500, 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 600. Corequisites: SW 602, 606, 607
This course explores major forms of clinical mental health issues and psychopathology in adults, children, and adolescents, including classification trends, issues, and models. The course provides an introduction to clinical syndromes in terms of diagnostic methodology, research and social concerns and their implications for at-risk groups and familiarizes social work students with the major mental disorders and psychopathologies acquainted with the language, taxonomy, conceptualizations, and dynamics and developments in the study of clinical mental health assessment and differential diagnoses. Discussed are the bio-psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual variables influencing behavior in the environment so that students will gain a theoretical foundation for understanding and assessing mental health and mental health diagnoses. The impact of diversity, social justice, racism, and social determinants of health on behavioral and mental health will be explored. Particular emphasis will be given to the complexity of mental health, and to the use and practical limitations of diagnostic systems, including the DSM-5-TR. Prerequisites: SW 600. Co-requisites: SW 601 and SW 603
This course provides knowledge of the issues involved in clinical/mental health research methodology regarding policies and services. This course is designed to allow social workers to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and outcomes in a clinical practice setting and provides a study of the issues involved in clinical research methodology. Anti-oppressive social work research and engagement in ADEI practice is a major focus of this course. Designing the research agenda, and conceptualizing and implementing the process of research with a focus on evidence-based outcomes is taught. Multiple research methodologies are studied from quantitative and qualitative traditions. Students are introduced to the tools for documenting the effects of clinical practice interventions for individuals, couples, families and groups (including qualitative and quantitative methodologies: single-case design, standardized measurement, self-report data, self-monitoring, case study, and grounded theory, among others). This course is required in the MSW Clinical Social Work Specialization and is taught simultaneously with SW 602 Clinical Social Work II and SW 607 Clinical Policies & Services. This course is also taught along with a concurrent field placement addressing the Clinical Social Work specialization. Prerequisites: Advanced Standing and SW 600, 601, 603, 605 or the following courses in the Two-Year Program: SW 500, 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 600. Corequisites: SW 602, 604, 607
Contemporary policy issues related to clinical social work and mental health including social determinants of mental health, treatment and access to care, rights and privacy, system interaction, and disparities in care are focused upon in this course. The role of social workers in policy advocacy, the history and evolution of mental health policy, and recent mental health policy proposals are examined. Students learn to analyze mental health policy and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice. Throughout the course, issues are examined through the ADEI lens. Advanced Standing and SW 600, 601, 603, 605 or the following courses in the Two-Year Program: SW 500, 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 600.
This course explores evidence-based cognitive and behavioral interventions used by social workers in the treatment of adults experiencing mental health issues. Practice from an ADEI perspective is emphasized. Students in their specialization year (Advanced Standing) can take this course. Prerequisites are as follows: SW 500, 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507.
This course addresses the history, current issues, assessment, and treatment of substance use disorders that strengthens preparation for clinical social work practice. Through a biopsychosocial-cultural-spiritual perspective, discussed are knowledge of substance use disorders and social work skills to conceptualize, assess, and treat substance use disorders and co-occurring disorders, such as mental health issues. Its focus is on persons with substance use disorders or persons at risk. Major emphasis is on the assessment and treatment of substance use disorders and an understanding of the etiology and impact of substance use disorders in special populations. Students in their specialization year (Advanced Standing) can take this course. Prerequisites are as follows: SW 500, 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507.
This course explores palliative care and end-of-life care from the perspective of social work practice with children, adolescents, adults, and older adults with terminal illness and serious chronic illness, as well as their care partners. We will learn what palliative care is and how it differs from curative forms of medical treatment, how to communicate empathically with patients and their care partners about options, screen for distress, and provide biopsychosocial spiritual support. As a relatively new specialty in social work practice, palliative and end-of-life care emphasizes goals of care, advance care planning, interdisciplinary team approaches, and cultural competency. Readings, class discussion, and topics include medical, psychosocial spiritual, legal, and ethical perspectives. Prerequisites: SW 502
First Year | ||
---|---|---|
First Semester | Credits | |
Generalist Practice Year - Year One | ||
Fall Semester | ||
SW 500 | Justice-Based Social Work Practice (Begins August 1) | 3 |
SW 501 | The Social Work Profession: Agent of Change | 3 |
SW 503 | Generalist Practice: Individuals, Families, & Groups | 3 |
SW 505 | Human Behavior in the Environment | 3 |
SW 507 | Practicum & Integrative Seminar I | 3 |
Credits | 15 | |
Second Semester | ||
Spring Semester | ||
SW 504 | Generalist Practice Communities & Organizations | 3 |
SW 506 | Social Policy | 3 |
SW 508 | Practicum and Integrative Seminar II | 3 |
SW 509 | Research Methods in Social Work | 3 |
Credits | 12 | |
Third Semester | ||
Summer II | ||
SW 502 | Crisis Intervention and Conflict Resolution | 3 |
Credits | 3 | |
Second Year | ||
First Semester | ||
Specialization: Clinical Social Work - Year Two | ||
Fall Semester | ||
SW 600 | Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Social Work (Begins August 1) | 3 |
SW 601 | Clinical Social Work I | 3 |
SW 603 | Practicum & Integrative Seminar III - Clinical Practice | 3 |
SW 605 | Clinical Assessment & Diagnosis | 3 |
Elective Class | 3 | |
Credits | 15 | |
Second Semester | ||
Spring Semester | ||
SW 602 | Clinical Social Work II | 3 |
SW 604 | Practicum & Integrative Seminar IV | 3 |
SW 606 | Research Methods in Clinical Social Work | 3 |
SW 607 | Clinical Policies and Services | 3 |
Elective Class | 3 | |
Credits | 15 | |
Total Credits | 60 |
First Year | ||
---|---|---|
First Semester | Credits | |
Fall Semester | ||
SW 600 | Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Social Work (Begins August 1) | 3 |
SW 601 | Clinical Social Work I | 3 |
SW 603 | Practicum & Integrative Seminar III - Clinical Practice | 3 |
SW 605 | Clinical Assessment & Diagnosis | 3 |
Elective Class | 3 | |
Credits | 15 | |
Second Semester | ||
Spring Semester | ||
SW 602 | Clinical Social Work II | 3 |
SW 604 | Practicum & Integrative Seminar IV | 3 |
SW 606 | Research Methods in Clinical Social Work | 3 |
SW 607 | Clinical Policies and Services | 3 |
Elective Class | 3 | |
Credits | 15 | |
Total Credits | 30 |
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